More than 20 people, including teenagers, returning from a church camp were injured when a bus overturned in the Southern California mountains, authorities said Nov. 10.
The bus had been traveling downhill when it rolled over at a curve on State Route 330 near Running Springs, a community about 80 miles east of Los Angeles, according to the San Bernardino County Fire Department. The crash occurred at around 8:50 p.m. local time on Nov. 9, and the fire department said first responders were dispatched to the scene just before 9 p.m.
Upon arriving at the scene, the fire department said first responders discovered the bus tipped over on its side in a turnout with passengers “extricating themselves — including many through the vehicle’s roof hatch.” The bus carried 36 people.
“County Fire resources quickly declared the incident an MCI (mass casualty incident), with firefighters and paramedics setting up triage protocols, a patient treatment area, and an ambulance loading zone,” the fire department said in a statement on Nov. 10.
Twenty-six people, including three with major injuries, were treated, according to the fire department. Of those injured, 20 were transported to area hospitals by ambulances, while the others on the bus declined transport or treatment.
The fire department noted that there was no fire or hazardous-material exposure, and no extrication operations were required. The agency added that the first patients were taken to hospitals within 15 minutes of the crews initiating triage, and by 10:30 p.m., all patients had been transported.
The incident prompted a large emergency response, including 11 engine companies, 11 ambulances, and four chief officers, according to the fire department. The California Highway Patrol also temporarily shut down State Route 330 in both directions to secure the scene.
The California Highway Patrol is leading the investigation into the incident, according to the fire department.
Fire department: Passengers attended a California church camp
The fire department said the bus was returning to Orange County after passengers attended a church camp in the San Bernardino Mountains near Angelus Oaks, a small community surrounded by the San Bernardino National Forest.
The group was with Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Santa Ana, a city in Orange County, the Diocese of Orange confirmed to KABC-TV. The Diocese of Orange said in a statement that the group was attending a three-day parish youth retreat at Camp Nawakwa in the San Bernardino Mountains, KABC-TV reported.
The Diocese of Orange added that about 125 people, including teenagers, retreat staff, and volunteers, participated in the event, according to KABC-TV. Participants left the retreat on Nov. 9 in several vans and one bus that was involved in the accident.
In a statement shared on social media on Nov. 10, the Diocese of Orange thanked first responders and asked the community to “join in prayer for healing as a way to cope with this tragic incident.”
“Today, our thoughts and prayers are with the youth, families, and staff of Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church (Santa Ana) who are feeling deeply affected by the bus accident on Sunday evening in the San Bernardino Mountains on the way home from a youth retreat,” the statement reads.
